The Blue Roses
by tofuskin21
Summary: Marie's parents die and and she's forced to move to work at a hotel in some obscure part of Canada. Inspired by the Secret Garden, but not exatly like it. PLEASE R&R, I BEG OF YOU.
1. Chapter 1

The Blue Roses

Please read and REVIEW.

I live for reviews, they are the lights of my life and if you review I will love you forever. Honest.

PS, i dont own Raise Your Glass, by P!nk

* * *

Chapter UNO

Marie watched herself sit in the mirror, still as a statue, while her maid combed her straight black hair. "Olivia, I want to paint now, go get the drawing room ready," she ordered when Olivia was done.

"Yes, miss," Olivia bowed and walked out.

Marie sighed and stared at herself in the mirror. There wasn't much she liked about her appearance. Her polished-looking hair framed her small face and straight nose, staying inside too much had caused her skin to look unnaturally pale, her outfit was a custom made pink skirt-sweater pair picked out by her mother, and her big brown eyes looked sad and lonely. Everyone always told her how lucky she was, her parents were the richest couple in the world. Being rich had its perks and she wasn't complaining about it, but every so often she would wish she wasn't.

Marie was never allowed a word that might be negative to her parent's company's image. Her parents had forced it into her at an early age, that even the slightest bit of complaining in public would hurt their business.

Her mother picked her outfits and her father planned her outreach trips, but they were usually so busy that Marie was forced into the same outfits for weeks on and had nowhere to go for months at a time. Her parents forbid her from leaving the house, except under explicit instruction and supervision, being scared she would wreak their image within minutes of independence.

Marie's parents spent more time working than even sleeping, much less spending time with Marie. As the most brilliant scientists of the 23rd century, she accepted that they had a responsibility to do the best they could for the rest of the world.

Their brainchild was OceanAir, a oxygen purifying system which allowed oxygen to be harvested from acres of algae farmed in the ocean. OceanAir had literally saved humanity as it teetered on the brink of suffocating from lack of oxygen in the atmosphere sixteen years ago when Mary was born. Their patent pending was the basis of their enormous wealth and allowed her parents to invest in corporations worldwide.

They cared about everyone… except her.

A shrill ring startled Marie from her reverie. She scowled and answered her phone, causing a hologram of her parent's tall, handsome financial manager, Calvin Keighton to pop up in front of her. Calvin was a business mastermind who had graduated from Brighton Collage at eighteen and had been working for her parents ever since. Although he as almost thirty and married, he was as good-looking as when he was twenty, but Marie saw him as more of an uncle.

"Hello Marie… well, there is something that I must to you and it is not going to be easy to say," Calvin took a deep breath.

"Well, say it already," Marie folded her arms across her chest, "did a stock crash? Was there a problem at one of the conferences? Say it already, what could possibly have happened to concern the great Celia and Marco Solgré?"

"They died. That is what could happen to them," he informed her emotionlessly, as if he were telling her how many bowls of cereal he had for breakfast, "I'm very sorry to inform you your parents are now dead. There was an accident at the lab and they were at the epicenter of the explosion. Although I'm sorry for your loss, it could have been anyone."

Marie was speechless. The voices in her head were anything but. Half of her mind was shouting freedom and anarchy, while the other half was panicking on what she would do without her parents.

Marie felt no longing for her parents. Their involvement in her life consisted of giving birth to her, handing her off to a nanny, and occasionally ordering her around. There wasn't much to miss about them. All Marie felt for them was a little guilt for not feeling worse.

"Unfortunately I have more bad news, but I would much rather deliver this in person. I will be at the mansion in exactly 75 minutes," Calvin ended hanging up on Marie.

Marie was still in shock when Olivia returned. "Miss Marie, the art room is finally ready, I'm sorry for the delay, you see, Sophie spilled paint on the-"

"It's all right; I no longer need that room. Now I need the sitting room prepared, is arriving in about an hour or so."

Olivia curtsied and left quickly.

Marie wandered absently into her bedroom, a magnificent span of gold and pink designer furniture and frills. Marie didn't even like the color pink, but her mother thought pink and gold looked fabulous on her, so she was forced into it day after day.

A thought occurred to her, she would never have to wear what her mother picked for her ever again! She walked into her closet and rummaged around until she found a plain blue shirt and a black and white skirt that were presents from one of her mom's associates. Her mother had graciously accepted them, but as soon as their visitor had left, she threw them at the nearest maid as if they contained cooties. Feeling rebellious and snazzy she added a pair of ripped black leggings to her ensemble.

She felt giddy with excitement. This was the first time she had honest-to-gosh EVER crossed her parents' wishes. She ran back into her room and hopped onto her larger-than-king-size bed. Feeling spontaneous she started bouncing up and down lightly. Growing bored of that, she turned it up a couple notches until she was jumping wildly all over her mattress. "Radio, turn on loud, bouncy music, I don't care what kind" she yelled the command to the audio system in her room.

"Now playing Raise Your Glass, by P!nk. Released in 2010" informed the audio controls.

_That's such an old song_, she thought, about to ask the audio system to change, when the song came streaming through.

Right right, turn off the lights,  
We're gonna lose our minds tonight,  
What's the dealio?

I love when it's all too much,  
5am turn the radio up  
Where's the rock and roll?

Slam slam, oh hot damn  
What part of party don't you understand,  
Wish you'd just freak out (freak out already)  
Can't stop, coming in hot,  
I should be locked up right on the spot

So raise your glass if you are wrong,  
In all the right ways,  
All my underdogs,  
We will never be never be anything but loud  
And nitty gritty dirty little freaks  
Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,  
Just come on and come on and raise your glass

It's so on right now (so fuckin on right now)

So if you're too school for cool,  
And you're treated like a fool,  
You can choose to let it go  
We can always, we can always,  
Party on our own

(oh shit my glass is empty, that sucks)

_I think I might be in love with old music_, Marie grinned at the lyrics. If her parents had ever heard her listening to that music, they would have blown some kind of gasket.

"Off' she called to the audio when she heard someone knocking at the door, "Come in," she announced, plopping down on the edge of the mattress.

"Miss Marie, Mr. Keighton is here to see you," Olivia informed Marie.

"Oh!" She ran to the dresser and motioned to the maid to fix her now-messy hair.

Olivia quickly ran a brush through Marie's hair and took escorted to the parlor.

* * *

SO WHATA YA THINK?

PSBTW: how can i say her eyes are big, but not make it sound too pretty?

Should I keep going? Not much info on the characters yet, but tell me what you think so far anyway (Marie's a real wild child isn't she? Jk, she's been really repressed and she thinks anything out of the normal is really wild.) How's the writing? (I'm a real amateur, be nice)Tell me what you think will happen, though you'll never know unless you review. I don't want to post another one until at least one person reviews, SO PLEASE FRICKIN REVIEW ALREADY!


	2. Chapter 2

Alrightie, a revie!

FlyinSolo365: Thanks for the cool idea, but I think Marie would be too high-strung for someone like Bubbles. She's probably only get half (or less) of Bubbles's smart-butt comebacks and would be so freaked out by Bubbles she'd probably throw a chair or shoe or something at her and then Bubbles would pwn Marie with muffin bombs. End of story. And you know what else? That is great advice you gave and I quote "do NOT let reviews rule your life". So there all you non-reviers. I don't need you.

But revies would still nice if you did happen to have an opinion.

PS: I'm trying to avoid the Mary-Sue trap, but if Marie starts to get on your nerves, tell me. FAST. But at the same time, give her a chance.

PPS: I would give Marie a snotty accent. Just a little one.

Now, on to our feature presentation:

* * *

Ch2

"Hello Marie, by the look of your outfit, I see you've taken the news not too badly."

"Oh, thank you, Calvin," Marie beamed, "I found these in the back of my closet."

"It's nice to see you've adapted well. While your parents were visionaries, I can't say they were entirely good at being parents."

"Too true, what news did you say you must tell me?"

"Ah, thank you for reminding me. You may want to sit down for this. You may be in for a shock," he motioned toward the sofa.

They took their seats and Marie motioned for some refreshments, and then looked expectantly at Calvin.

Calvin took a deep breath and began, "You already know of your parent's rival company Oxytell Industries, right? Well, today, not soon before the explosion, Oxytell industries announced the development of a method of recycling oxygen through their new filter. With this filter, there will be no more need for new oxygen, which is what OceanAir provides. Do you see the problem here?"

"Yes, well, sort of. So, because of Oxytell, OceanAir isn't needed. Does that mean we don't have any more money?"

"I was just getting to that point. We have some funds, but we can only stretch them so far. To stretch them as much as we can, we're going to have to downgrade your lifestyle. We're probably going to have to fire all of your maids and sell the house. I've arranged for you to live at one of your parents' investments, a retreat spa in Canada. Angie, my wife, works there so I plan on asking her to watch out for you. If you want an extra allowance, will you be alright with having to work at the hotel for it?"

"If that's the only way I can earn money, I guess I don't really have a choice. Ugh, work," Marie made a sour-lemon face as she said the word.

"If it's settled, we'll move you there next week. For now, you should just enjoy what you can while you're still here," Calvin finalized as Olivia brought in refreshments of coffee cake, straight coffee for Calvin and milk for Marie.

"I will most definitely be doing that," Marie added, digging into her cake.

* * *

A week later, Marie arrived in Canada, at the entrance of the hotel, named Celia's Retreat, in honor of her mother.

The weather was fairly warm for August and the gardens in the large premise were home to acres thriving green plants. Outside the gates, the land was covered by thick forests of pines, maples, and other shrubbery.

Though it was still hot, the first signs of fall were beginning to show on the garden and some of the taller trees were starting to transition from green to red and orange and there were squirrels running everywhere, gathering nuts to store for winter.

Marie pulled a leash out of her huge pink suitcase and pressed a button, causing her luggage to float up like a balloon. She tugged her bag along with her to the front door of the hotel and stepped inside.

Inside she was greeted by more greenery as well as the regular furniture associated with lobbies. There were ferns and aloe veras and bamboo stalks located at choice locations, making the room seem airy and relaxing. On desks there were deep purple irises and colorful Birds of Paradise and adorable little blooms of Frangipanis. The whole floor of the lobby was raised so there could be a small trench with running water flowing around the room to a bubbling waterfall in the corner. Though Marie was not accustomed to seeing so many plants, having spent most of her life indoors and in cities, she wasn't bothered at all by the change. The plants made Marie feel more relaxed and welcome here, than she had ever felt in her old home.

An oriental bridge led Marie over the water and to the counter. The room was fairly empty, other than the concierge at the front desk and the lady she was helping out.

Marie walked up to the counter and pressed the little bell on the counter. "Hello, you must be Marie. Please wait just a moment, I'll be right with you, I just have to check out Mrs. Holander first," the lady at the counter told Marie.

Marie was surprised, but at the same not really. She's been told the exact same thing be her parents practically every time she had tried to talk to them, but never by anyone else.

The woman finished her work and turned to Marie, "Hey, I'm Angela, but most people call me Angie," she introduced warmly.

"Oh you must be Calvin's wife. Calvin told me you work here," Marie recalled, as well as the rest of their conversation, causing her to grimace at the thought of working.

"What's wrong?" asked Angie.

"Oh, nothing. I just have a few questions about the work I'll have to do."

"I see, I wouldn't worry too much. You will only be a waitress and one of the under-gardeners. You don't have to start work right away, but we would like you to start as soon as you can."

"I have TWO jobs?" Marie was appalled; having one job was already a bad thought.

Angie laughed and rolled her eyes at the same time, "The work staff here is extremely small, only around 10 workers, but we don't usually have too many residents, so almost everyone has at least two jobs. Most of us actually have three. For example, I am the head maid, concierge, and also a waitress."

"There are waitresses at hotels?"

"Yes, there are usually a few, but this hotel has more, because we are also a five-star restaurant. The restaurant is actually how we earn most of our income. People fly in from all around the world to dine here. The chef here, Clara, is world famous. I hope you'll meet her soon."

"That sounds nice," answered Marie stiffly.

"Good to hear. Also since we don't get a lot of residents, the staff members each get their own rooms. I can't leave my shift for another hour, but if you go to the staff room, down the hall and to your third left, there's usually at least another person in there. Ask them to take you to E-31. Everyone's been waiting to meet you and any of them would be happy to help you. Here's your key," Angie instructed, handing her a small, bronze key.

"Alright, thanks."

Marie followed the hallway and took the third left to find a room clearly labeled "Staff Room." Inside was a large room, with HUGE gothic windows covering the opposite side, causing the Marie's eyes to water from the extreme brightness. "Hello!" called a voice from the white light.

* * *

Kind of a cliffhanger, but i already wrote the next chapter and i'm gonna publish it right after a read over it a couple more times, so hold tight. For a few minutes.

Sooooo, anyhoo. Whatcha think? Please feel free to correct my tiny random mistakes if you notice any and elaborate on any parts you disagree with.

Please also comment on my new characters, NEw CHaRActEr DaNCe!

REVIES... drool.


	3. Chapter 3

MoRE NEw CHaRActEr DaNCe! Yay!

Revie! You know you want to. It'll make me happy. Like Happy the dwark from Snow White. I love that guy almost as I love Dopey. Who was named very wrongly. Sleepy's probably more likely to be on dope than Dopey. REVIEW IF YOU AGREE, REVIEW IF YOU DON'T!

Anyhoo, enjoy!

PS: I don't own Uprising by Muse. But man, I really wish I did.

Ch3

"Umm… hello?" responded Marie, blinking rapidly.

"Hi! Are you Marie? You look like a Marie! Welcome to Celia's! My name's Amy!"

"Uhh, yeah, I'm Marie," replied Marie, unaccustomed to hyper teenage girls.

"Hey, Angie told us you were coming! How do you like Celia's so far? I've been here for four freaking years and I'm still amazed by the total awesomeness of this place!"

"It _is_ very beautiful here. Angie told me you could show me my room, it's E-31."

"What a weird coincidence! E-31's right next to my room, they're connected by those door you sometimes see in hotel rooms! That's so awesome! I've been to your room a couple times and the walls have this amazing mural of a forest and it has the prettiest bed ever and it's got windows just like these," she pointed at the windows on the other side of the room, "and they overlook the gardens, which are SO amazing! All the rooms are custom made, so they're all different. My room is purple and has all these amazing Victorian accents and it's pretty too."

"That's sounds nice. Can you show me to my room?"

"Yeah sure, just follow me!" Amy led Marie down the hall, chattering as they walked, "Have you always talked this formally? By the way I heard you were going to be an under gardener, it is true? And a waitress?" Marie nodded, "I'm a waitress, a maid, and the first assistant chef. I'm not much of an outdoors person, but I'm getting really good at cooking and I'm not ashamed at all when bragging about my amazing chocolate-chip cookies. I'll make some soon, just for you since you've never tried them before. They've got a truckload of sugar though. Do you like sweet food?" Amy gushed.

"I haven't had too many sweets before. My mother would never buy them and warned me to never have too many desserts when I go to an occasion." _Because she didn't want me to gain weight, be fat, and ruin their image._

"Oh, that really sucks. You've been living an ironically deprived life, my friend. Luckily, here, you have me to introduce you to the greatest wonder of the world….. COOKIES. They don't make you fat, that's just a rumor started by depressed grown-ups. Can't you tell, this isn't bad," stated Amy, pointing to her middle, "You see, my stomach is shy, so it hides behind my fat! That is a prime example of symbiotic relationships, right there!"

Marie couldn't stop the giggle-snort from bursting out. She had no way to resist, Amy was far too crazy for any of the barriers Marie's parents had implanted in her head, so she wouldn't laugh and embarrass in public.

"Yesss!" grinned Amy, "I've now penetrated your fortress of seriousitude! You're definitely living the real life now."

"Alright, fine, thanks. I have not really laughed in a while," admitted Marie.

"No problem, it's what I'm here for. And for occasional tours if you happen to be interested," offered Amy as they reached their rooms.

"That would be welcome. When can a tour arranged for me?"

"It can be arranged by noon tomorrow if it pleases you," snickered Amy.

"That sounds so, oh my gad, totally AMAZING!" retorted Marie, surprising even herself.

The girls paused for a split second, and then burst into laughter. "I'm proud to have been such a positive influence on you in such a short time," Amy attempted a serious face, while saying this.

"There could not be a recipient deemed more worthy of your of your influence," replied Marie, playing up her way of speech.

"I liked the other way better," Amy snorted.

"I'll try darling, I'll try," attempted Marie

"We'll have to work on it. Anywhiles, here's your room," Amy performed a series of grand gestures, before pointing to room E-31.

Marie unlocked the door and the pair stepped inside.

Marie was put in shock by the room. She had never seen anything like her new room and it was absolutely NOTHING like her old room. The walls were painted with a startlingly real looking forest, filled with gorgeous blooms of unimaginable colors and kinds. There were rabbits and deer and a brook running through the forest which literally burst out of the wall in a glass waterfall.

_Alright_, Marie admitted, _this room is pretty awesome._

There was a huge bed on one wall. The bed was a fresh, bright green which immediately became Marie's first ever favorite color. Armed with her first ever favorite color, she leaped onto the bed and broke it in by jumping on it. "Is there an audio system here?" she shouted to Amy, who nodded approvingly at Marie.

"Yeah, let me introduce you to some good music!" yelled Amy climbing on the bed to jump with Marie, "You look like you need some! Radio, turn on Uprising, by Muse, it's an old song, but I promise you'll like it!"

"No problem, I think I like old music," replied Marie, as the music started blasting through the speakers.

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR  
The transmissions will resume  
They'll try to push drugs  
Keep us all dumbed down and hope that  
We will never see the truth around

(So come on)

Another promise, another scene, another  
A package not to keep us trapped in greed  
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds  
...and endless red tape to keep the truth confined

(So come on)

They will not force us  
They will stop degrading us  
They will not control us  
We will be victorious

Interchanging mind-control come let the  
Revolution take its toll if you could  
Flick the switch and open your third eye, you'd see that  
We should never be afraid to die

(So come on)

Rise up and take the power back, it's time that  
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that  
Their time is coming to an end, we have to  
Unify and watch our flag ascend

(So come on)

They will not force us  
They will stop degrading us  
They will not control us  
We will be victorious

(So come on)

(Oi) x3  
(Oi) x4  
(Oi) x4

They will not force us  
They will stop degrading us  
They will not control us  
We will be victorious

(So come on)

(Oi) x4

Sooooo. How is it? Should I keep adding music, or does it take the story away from the plot? (even if there aren't any signs of a plot yet) but it's way! Because I already wrote another chapter! Cause was just so desperate for reviews I waited till I had one to keep publishing.

Thanks FlyingSolo365/Lilah, you changed my life. Hope you can live with that.

Lastly, leave a comment on Amy, MoRE NEw CHaRActEr DaNCe!


	4. Chapter 4

On revies! I'm trying not to care and be an independent writer and all that stuff and not depend on reviews, but you gotta amit, they're nice. Like guys. Not many in my life, (just crushes, sigh), but I don't need them. Not one bit. But sometimes, like when those darn teenage hormones get a hold on me, I really wish I had one.

Great analogy right? REVIEW IF YOU AGREE, REVIEW IF YOU DON'T.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ch4

Marie face scrunched up as the song faded. "What? You didn't like it?" asked Amy as she sat down on the bed, to regain her breath.

"It sounded really… what's the word, it means rebellious and revolting against something, I've forgotten the word," mused Marie, who didn't feel tired, probably because of the hours in their personal gym, but nonetheless sat down, facing Amy.

"Do you mean anarchy?"

"Ah, yes, that's what I mean. The people sound as if they would like to set something on alight, and then run around like those funny horses with carrots tied to a stick hanging if front of them."

"That's pretty good observing," nodded Amy, "but that's why it's so awesome, it's just the way I feel sometimes when my people try to feel bad for me and try to keep me in the dark about my parent, I haven't told you about them yet have I?" Marie shook her head.

"Then I should probably tell you before anyone else does. My parents are in an open relationship with each other."

"What does that mean?"

"Basically, it means they allow each other to sleep with other people, but they're still married."

Marie's eyes widened. How could Amy talk about something like this so openly? _Get a grip, Marie. You're in a different world now, you've got to learn to adapt._ "Why? Don't they like each other?"

Amy sighed, "We've had a gajillion family conversations about this. Apparently they still love each other in the inside, but they for some reason, they hate each other on the outside, so they both let each other cheat to get rid of their sexual tensions. It's has to do with how they met on an internet chat room or something."

"I doubt my parents have ever cheated on each other. They're both too busy with work to bother with anything else. We haven't even had a family conversation in years. And now I guess we never will."

"Oh, I forgot! I'm so sorry! I'm been complaining about my parents, when so much worse happened to your parents! Don't you have any other relatives?"

"None that I know of. It was always just me and my parents. Well, mostly me and sometimes Calvin. I had a lot of servants, but I was never allowed to talk to them like I'm talking to you."

"That sounds a way lonelier life than I'd imagine a bazillionaire's daughter to live. At least I have my brother."

"You have a brother! I feel so jealous! I've always wanted a sibling, preferably an older one though."

"Well, my brother is actually two years younger than me. I'm twenty and Griffin is sixteen. You know what? I'll be your honorary older sister!"

"That sounds like a dream! I am only sixteen as well. However, I definitely thought you were at least younger than eighteen."

"Oh, I get that all the time. I guess I'm just not mature enough for the rest of the world, which is fine by me. "

"That's nice to know. Do your parents work here too?"

"Nope, they work in Oklahoma, designing watches. I know, weird right?"

Marie smiled, "No weirder than having parents who are trying to find a cure to CPS. And reverse ozone depletion. And invent an energy source that relies on fish scales or hair follicles or something. Trust me, my parents are at least as weird as yours. Anyway, so you and your brother live here, while your parents live in Oklahoma?"

"Yep, that's how it's been going for a while. I've lived here for four years now, though I think I've already told you. Griffin's on his second year here. He's also an under-gardener like you and a bellhop. The other people who work here are Angie, Clara, Arty, Andrew, Javier, Ellen, Katrina, and Grant. You probably shouldn't try to remember those names. You'll meet them later anyway. Patty just moved to Brazil, so you'll be replacing her. I'll introduce you at dinner. We usually have dinner at seven, but there's a late dinner at nine for those who have shifts at seven."

"Oh. I've been wondering about the work. I have never worked before in my life, so I was wondering how I'm supposed to learn."

"You'll probably learn on the job. It'd be great if you could start soon, because the rest of us have been working extra to cover Patty's shifts."

Marie grudgingly nodded yes.

"You'll also probably have to start school soon. You'll be a junior with Griffin. We don't have a school here, so you'll have to take classes online. That's why you and Griffin have only two jobs each. I finished school a few years ago and I've been studding Culinary Arts here. In other words I'm training to be a chef under Clara. Just wait, someday I'm gonna be a kick-ass pastry chef!"

"I don't doubt you at all," replied Marie honestly.

"Thanks, it's nice to hear that," Amy glanced at the time on her phone and freaked out a little, "Oh my gosh, its already five! I have my waitressing shift at five-fifteen!"

"Then go! You don't want to be late! I'll unpack my stuff and get ready for dinner, and then you can pick me up before seven, so I won't get lost on the way to the place we eat stuff, whatever it's called."

"It's the second dining hall, called Mess, for short. Quick, give me your phone number!"

They quickly exchanged numbers. "Alright, so I'll come get you around seven! It sounds like a date!" winked Amy, running to her room to change.

* * *

Sooooo. Publishing all my junk at one in the morning… I probably should not be doing this, but I'm too tired to really process how bad this might be. Oh well. I'VE GOT MORE WHERE THIS IS COMING FROM! MUHAHAHA.

Review topics, in case you want to leave a review, but don't know what to write about: AMY. Well, actually, that's my only topic. Any opinions about her? Anything really. Shes got a lot going on. Her brother, her parents, her herself.

Thanks FlyingSolo365/Lilah for that one first review! Like the first domino falling! Then all of a sudden there's all these random dominos falling everywhere. Hope you're not regretting this!

Toodaloo.

GRAPE. (that's my name, not some random comment)


	5. Chapter 5

MoRE NEw CHaRActEr DaNCe! Yay!

Revies! Sometimes I feel like the revies and I have a Romeo-Juliet relationship. We love each other *the reives refuse to comment*, but despite our deep and meaningful relationship *still no comment*, the revies feel like they need to be 'manly and stotic' and 'NOT THERE' *ahem* like when Romeo killed Tybalt, while he was trying to be 'manly and stotic.' It just doesn't work out that way. Wait… what are you doing over there you silly revie! NO, DON'T DO THAT! *GUN SHOT*

I'M DEPRESSED NOW.

REVIEW IF YOU LAUGHED, REVIEW IF YOU AGREE, REVIEW IF YOU DON'T.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ch5

Marie sighed. _I'm so lucky I found Amy. She's so nice and it's amazing how she can talk about the randomest things without making it feel awkward or crazy._

Marie unpacked her mostly pink, frilly wardrobe and arranged it in her closet, sighing when she remembered she didn't have any more money to buy new nicer clothes with. She thought of asking Amy if she could borrow anything nicer, but Amy looked around a half a foot shorter than Marie and was chubbier too, so she figured Amy's clothes probably wouldn't fit her.

Marie, used to exercising every day, felt tense, and buzzy from not exercising for at least around a whole week. Intent on regaining the momentum she had lost, she focused on working out for the next hour, doing sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, jumping jacks and other exercises that didn't require equipment.

Though Marie wasn't really sure what had driven her to exercise, since her main motivation before had been her parents, she felt better and her head felt clearer than it had in a while.

After taking a shower in her forest themed bathroom, she dressed in black slacks and a pink shirt and had just enough time to try to apply some eyeliner before Amy came knocking.

"Hey, you look nice," approved Amy, looking at Marie's outfit, "But pink isn't really your color."

"Yeah, I don't really like it either, but I don't have many options."

"I have a green jacket, that'll fit you, if you want."

"Really? That would be wonderful!"

"Sure, follow me. I'll just grab it and we'll be on our way."

Amy's room was as she'd described it, purple and white, with Victorian trimmings and princessey furniture. She produced a army green jacket from a large white wood cabinet. Marie accepted the jacket and tried it on. "You can keep it, it looks better on you than it ever did on me."

"Really? I can? Oh my goodness! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, it matches your hair nicely. We should probably hurry before we're late. Come on."

Marie followed Amy through the hallways and staircases of the building until a few minutes later, they arrived at the staff room again. "What are we doing here?" Marie asked, staring at the door.

"Wrong way silly," laughed Amy, turning Marie around introducing her to another door on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Obviously," Marie tried to cover up her slip up.

"Mhm," replied Amy steering her into the other room.

The room had a big, round table seated with around eight or nine other people and the food was already served.

_Mmmn, spagetti, _thought Marie, hungry from her mini-workout.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late. If I could have your attention for a sec, I wanna introduce you to our newest staff, Marie," announced Amy.

The conversations stopped and the people turned to look at Marie, all of them smiling. "Hey Marie, it's nice to see you've met Amy," called Angie.

"Yes, she's been very kind to me," replied Marie.

"Oh good, almost everyone's here today!" smiled Amy, "This seems like a good time for introductions. You've already met Angie. Let me introduce you to Clara, my culinary idol, Arty, her husband, the head gardener for this place, Javier, a bellhop and resident lifeguard, Ellen and Katrina, who both run the personal spa and part-time as maids, and Grant, who does everything else. Andrew isn't here, but he's Angie's brother and he's the manager of this place. Oh, hey, neither is Griffin. Does anyone know whether he's got a late shift or if he's just late?" Amy asked, as she and Marie took their seats and some of the conversations began to trickle again.

"He's probably just late, he's al-" Javier began, but was interrupted by the door being slammed open, "and there he is."

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I couldn't find my key to the garden storage, so I had to borrow Andrew's" apologized a person who could only be described as Amy's total opposite, sliding into the seat next to Amy.

Amy scowled, "Oh, and you smell like cut grass, eww. Marie, I'm allergic to pollen, will you switch seats with me?"

"But how does the smell of grass give you a react-"

"That, and I just really don't like the smell because it hurts my nose or something. Sorry Griff, you just smell really bad. What in the world have you been doing?" asked Amy.

"Geez, I was just mowing the west lawn," scowled Griffin.

"That explains it. The west lawn has that one kind of grass that smells really strong," she explained to Marie, "anyway, the smell is hurting my head. Marie, will you please switch seats with me? I promise you Griffin won't bite."

"Sure, I guess," Marie consented.

"So you're Marie, eh? I've been told I'm in charge of training you to be an under-gardener, as soon as you start work. When do you plan on starting?" asked Griffin.

"Well, tomorrow Amy's giving me a tour of the house."

"Well, if you get the house tour before lunch, you can work in the garden after lunch."

Marie groaned inwardly. Why was everyone so intent on making her work? "That will work," She sighed quietly.

"Hey, hey, hey, where'd the Marie I left the room with go, eh?" teased Amy

"She is unavailable at the moment due to the horridness of the concept of going to work for the first time in her life. Igh," Marie monotoned.

"Your first time working? Really?" asked Griffin.

"Umm, yes. Until last week, I was actually the daughter of a multi-billionaire. Now, I'm not," Marie informed sarcastically.

"Oh. I knew that. This spaghetti is really good Clara," Griffin abruptly changed the topic.

Marie looked quizzically at Griffin. Was that rude or normal in lower societies? _It's so much more confusing here, _sighed Marie, turning her attention to her spaghetti as well.

She pushed around the spaghetti, realizing there were no meatballs, as she would have expected from such a high-class chef. "Amy, there's no meat in the spaghetti? Is it supposed to be like this?"

"Yes, that's 'cause Clara's a vegan chef, she doesn't use meat, milk, or egg products in her food. It's so weird how she can do that and still make it taste good."

"Are you serious? Awww, no more meat," Marie pouted.

The conversation moved from food to clothes, to traveling, to boys, and back to food again. By the end of the meal, Marie had learned Amy's favorite foods included cookies, zucchini bread, and apples with coffee syrup (a combination Marie nearly gagged at, but Amy assured her it was good); Amy was born in Mozambique, and moved to America when she was five, and all around North America until she was fifteen; she'd had two serious boyfriends, Chad and André, she had dumped Chad for picking on Griffin once too often, and she and André broke up when she moved to Canada.

All the while, Griffin sat silently on her other side, not attempting conversation in the least, which was perfectly fine with Marie.

For desert, there were crystallized violets, which Amy proudly told Marie she had made.

By the end of dinner, Marie's jet lag had caught up to her and was practically falling asleep on her plate. Angie excused her and Amy from after-dinner chores and Amy guided Marie back to her room, announcing she would be there at 6:30 to wake her up, bright and early because their tour would start around 7:30. She also stopped to close the drapes on the windows for Marie.

Marie groaned and changed into her pink jammies. She'd never woken up before nine, in her LIFE. She missed her old life, the luxuries and the options she had. Then she remembered the loneliness and the way her parents controlled her life, and changed her mind. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she climbed into bed and despite the heat and new location, fell asleep almost instantaneously.

* * *

Sooooo.

Review topics, in case you want to leave a review, but don't know what to write about: That shouldn't be a problem this chapter, cause a buncha stuff happened here. but for those lazy people out there, topics are GRIFFIN IN GENERAL, MORE AMY, HOW I CAN INTRODUCE WHAT GRIFFIN SHOULD LOOK LIKE (I'm not very good at descriptions and I think I usually make them sound cheesy)

Thanks FlyingSolo365/Lilah! I STILL LOVE YOU BUNCHES (OF HONEY AND OATS)

Toodaloo.

GRAPE.

PSBTW: in case you didn't get it, the revie at the a/n at the beginning killed itself. Sad, isn't it? Wanta know why? BECAUSE IT WAS LONELY. GOT IT?

PPSBTW: i think the ninjas in my stomach from whenever i publish anything finally went away... no wait... they're back. figures. SIGH.

PPPSBTW: on a random note, I'm trying to learn to windmill and I keep failing. and falling. And it REALLY hurts. MORE SIGH.


	6. Chapter 6

UNAVOIDABLE FLUFFY CHAPTER. NOT THAT I WAS TRYING TO AVOID IT.

i actually enjoyed writing this :) kinda, even though i have NO EXPERIANCE in the fluff department.

STILL TRYING TO WINDMILL. STILL FAILING. SIGH. HINTS ANYONE?

and for that snippet of Wake Up by Hillary Duff- I don't own that, nor do i really want to. a panda, on the other hand, would be a nice addition to my life.

Enjoy!

* * *

CH6

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! …."

"WHAT?" yelled Marie, groggily.

"Alright, so it's not Saturday night, but it is time to wake up, silly!" announced Amy laughing and pulling open the drapes on the windows, letting the sunlight trespass into Marie's room.

"No, it cannot be six-thirty already, it's far too early for things like being awake," Marie mumbled into her pillow.

"Yep, it's six-thirty. You get ready and I'll be back in an hour!"

_Ugh, how can one person have so much pep, at such an early hour? _wondered Marie, climbing out of bed and into the shower. After showering, she found a some gray shorts and a white t-shirt and paired it with the jacket Amy had given her the day before.

Feeling stiff, she practiced a couple sun salutations, before deciding to call Amy, since she was already ready and it was only seven.

The call went straight to voicemail, so Marie left a message telling her she was done early. Feeling restless, she stepped outside her room and followed the hallway until it reached a wide staircase with flat marble banisters.

An old idea sparked in Marie and grinning, she straddled onto the banister and pushed off! During the ride she found she was gaining too much speed and couldn't stop! Looking over her shoulder, she saw she getting closer and closer to the curly-Q at the base of the stairs.

"AGHH!" cried Marie as the curve threw her off and she flew into an awkward heap a few feet away.

Marie moaned turned to lie flat on her back. _That definitely did not go the way I thought it would. At least its only carpet I landed on_, she thought, _otherwise, I'd probably be in far worse shape._

She grunted and in one solid effort, she managed to sit upright. Moaning again, she clutched her sore head.

Suddenly there was a warm weight on her shoulder. Disoriented, she screamed. Within moments, another hand was over her mouth, causing Marie to panic, so she grabbed the restraining hand and bit it. Hard.

"OW! What the hell was that for," Griffin's voice came from behind her.

Eyes wide, she looked around slowly to see Griffin clutching his bite-marked hand, looking at her accusingly.

Biting her lip, she tried to explain, "Umm, I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't hear you walk up, so when you tapped me, I absolutely freaked out and screamed because I thought you might be… umm, I don't really know, a murderer or something."

Griffin gave her a look, "We don't get too many murderers around here, so you can relax. As for me, I was going to the front desk, when saw you fall and ran over to help. this damn carpet masks all noises, you it's not your fault for not hearing me. So, sorry, for scaring you."

"It's alright. I'm sorry about your hand."

"Eh, it'll heal. If you don't mind me asking, what the hell gave you the idea of sliding down the banister in the first place anyway?" he asked bluntly.

"I saw it in a movie and I wanted to try," Marie blushed furiously.

"That's probably the smarted idea I've ever heard," Griffin snorted, "I wouldn't try it again if I were you."

"Yes, that's probably for the best."

"Probably. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think I can," Marie tried to stand up again and managed to get all the way up this time, but after a few tentative steps, she felt a stabbing pain pulse through her left ankle.

Kneeling down from the sting, she clutched her ankle and tried to take deep breaths. "Guess not. I'll walk you to your room. One sec, let me just call Art to tell him I'll be a little late," responded Griffin, sounding slightly annoyed.

Marie tried to refuse, not wanting to bother him, but then thought better of it. He was right; she would need help to get to her room again.

After hanging up, Griffin tried to help Marie get up the stairs by acting as her crutch as she leaned on her right ankle. This arrangement was pretty ineffective, since Griffin towered around a foot above Marie's five foot five.

"I'm going to try something different," Griffin announced, as they resumed progress, after a quick break halfway up.

Before Marie could react, he had picked her up and was hauling her up the stairs as fast as he could, before collapsing on the top stair and putting her down. "Much… Better…" he panted.

"Are you alright?" Marie was appalled, "how could you carry me like that? I weigh, like, a bajillion pounds!"

Griffin snorted, "More like a hundred. Why do girls always think they're so heavy?"

"We do not!" Marie replied indignantly, "For your information, I weigh exactly somewhere around 110 pounds."

"It's all the same to me. I always weigh more than them, so why does it matter?" Griffin was almost done catching his breath.

"It doesn't. Anyway, thanks for helping me. I think I'll be able to walk now," Marie replied, not wanting Griffin to pick her up again.

She tried once again, to walk, and this time she was careful to limp on her right foot, so there wouldn't be too much weight on her hurt ankle.

"That's not walking; that's barely hobbling," snorted Griffin, "Come with me, I'll wrap your foot up so it'll hurt less."

Marie followed Griffin, who led her carefully, making sure she didn't fall over some invisible obstacle in the way. They arrived at a closet in the hallway, a few rooms away from Marie's suite. Griffin opened the closet and took out a first aid kit and motioned for her to sit down.

After he wrapped her foot in ACE wrap, he putting the kit back in the closet, he asked "Can you make it to you room now? I've got to go back to work."

"Yeah, it's really close to here."

"Alright. See you in the afternoon," he reminded her and left, running down the hallway to get where he needed to go.

Marie stood up tentatively, as not to hurt her foot more. The bandage helped and she was able to make it back to her room with relative ease.

Reaching her room, she let herself inside and plopped herself onto the bed. Checking her phone to see if Amy had called, she was shocked to find the whole incident had taken less than half an hour.

* * *

PANDAS ARE CUTE! But there is nothing scarier than an angry panda. NOTHING. except maybe an angry monkey, i got chased by one once, true story.

REVIES ARE CUTE TOO! and there are much scarier things than a writer asking for revies. MUCH SCARIER THINGS.

Not sure what my point is this time, but I'm sure you do. IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT.

I'll even help you: REVIE TOPICS: (btw, you don't have to use these, they're just if you get tired of leaving the same random revies (ex: OMG IT AWESOME! UPDATE SOON!) and wanta switch it up, but don't really want to think about it) (more btw, that's me right there) anyhoooo, TOPICS: Was that cheesy? Is it ok? Tell me about the awkward bits, you can be as specific as you want *AHEM* and what's your impression of Griffin?

Even more initiative i'll give whoever revies a cyber panda! *DROOL*, PANDA HUGS...

GRAPE.

PPSBTW: on a random note, I'm STILL trying to learn to windmill and I keep failing. And it REALLY hurts. SIGH.


	7. Chapter 7

I LIKE FOOD (especially large vegan cupcakes). AND REVEIES. AND FlyingSolo365. AND MORE REVIES SO I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT AND WHAT I'M DOING WRONG.

* * *

CH7

Feeling a bit tense from her close encounter with danger, she turned on some soft music, but minutes later, it was interrupted by a knock. Sighing, she opened the door to greet Amy. "HEY!" greeted Amy brightly, "your tour guide has arrived!"

"Oh," Marie was taken aback, for some reason she'd thought it was going to be Griffin knocking on the door, even though she knew she was expecting Amy.

"Oh? That's all I get? Come on, tell me what's going on," Amy pulled Marie into the hallway, "we can walk and talk. Anyway, what's up with your foot?"

"I just tripped on the rug," Marie lied, not wanting to make it too complicated, "and nothing else happened, I'm just tired."

"Alright, fine," shrugged Amy, "Well, we're gonna start our tour with the East Wing, since we're already here."

For the next three hours, Marie hobbled around after Amy, through the rest of the East Wing, the West Wing, the kitchens, the Laundromat, the basements, attics, and both of the towers, the garage, office, foyer, and finally ending their tour at the Staff Room.

"So whatdya think?" asked Amy.

"It's too big," complained Marie, drawing a snort from Amy.

"Just wait 'till you see the gardens. Anyway, I have to go, my shift starts soon, Bye!" exhaled Amy, skipping out, leaving Marie by herself.

"NGH," Marie groaned and sunk into one of the armchairs.

Unfortunately, her rest was cut short when Griffin walked in, "Up. We've got lot's to cover today," he announced, "Oh! You're foot, I forgot, we'll just have to use the golf cart for today, but as soon as you can walk again, you'll have to go just like the rest of us."

"Thank you, I'd really appreciate that," she groaned again, and got up

"No problem. Anyway, have you heard I lost my shed key?"

"Yes, you said so at dinner yesterday, and so I get a key later too?"

"Yeah, to both. Well, since we're both going to be going around, can you keep an eye out for it?"

"I'll try."

"Cool, I'll try to get you a key as soon as I can get one from Art. Did you meet him yesterday?"

"Yeah, tall guy, with lots of bushy, white hair?"

"Yep, that's him. He's a nice guy, but if he catches you messing with the plants, he will literally set your ass on fire."

"That's nice," replied Marie worried, _what if I do something wrong and he gets mad?_

"You wait here; I'm going to get the cart. I'll be right back."

Marie looked around in surprise; the lobby was closer than she had thought.

True to his word, Griffin was back pretty quickly with the golf cart.

"Can you drive yet?"

"Not yet," she answered climbing into the passenger seat.

"Alright then, I guess I'll drive. If you want, can teach you sometime," he offered.

"Yeah, sure, that'd be great."

"Right, so the area is split into two groups: gardens and parks. Gardens are smaller and prettier, and parks are bigger and sometimes have features like the antique polo court or something. There's also the greenhouse and the shed. Where do you want to start?"

"Whatever's closest would be fine."

"Then let's go to the spring garden. The gardens are organized by season, so we only keep the seasonal ones open, so the guests won't accidentally wander into a sleeping garden."

"Sleeping?"

"It means they don't look alive, but if you look closely, you can see bits of green. That's how you tell if it's wick. That means it still alive."

"Mhm, I like that word. Wiiiick. It sounds so smooth, like it could just fly away," Marie mused, causing Griffin to chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess. So, how much do you know about plants?"

"I know a bit about flowers. My mother signed me up for a flower arranging camp once, when 'oriental spring' was in style."

Griffin snorted, "I guess that's better than nothing. We have about seven gardens, three are year round and the other four are seasonal, one for each season. One of the gardens is a vegetable garden, another has mostly dry plants and the last one has tropical plants. Here's the spring garden now."

"Oh! What's that?" cried Marie, stepping off the moving cart, and promptly falling flat on her face.

"HEY! What the hell was that?" Griffin yelled, pulling the emergency brake and running to help Marie.

"I saw something shiny on the ground and I thought it might've been your key," Marie tried to explain.

"And what could possibly make you think it's safe to just step off a moving vehicle? First you fall off the banister and now this? You need to think before you do this stuff!" Griffin shouted, exasperated.

"You don't need to say it so loudly," scowled Marie, leaning away from him.

"Yes, I do! Otherwise it won't go through your thick head!"

"It sounded like a good idea when I thought of it," Marie glared at Griffin.

"Well obviously it wasn't. This isn't even my key," he sighed, picking up the shiny object.

"Well, it's still a key," Marie answered, taking it back from Griffin.

"A key without a lock," snorted Griffin.

"It's a pretty key without a lock," Marie pointed out. The key had an ornate silver design surounding a small blue crystal on its handle.

"I guess. Anyway, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Let's go."

Over the next three hours, Griffin led the Marie on a tour around the gardens.

"So, do you think you can handle it on your own?" he asked as they were finishing up.

"Maybe. I guess I'll try tomorrow."

"Why not try now?" asked Griffin, "Try giving me directions back to the entrance."

"Umm, alright. Take a left there," she pointed to an open path and Griffin followed accordingly.

Leading them through a few more turns, Marie saw an opening between two hedges. Curious, Marie took advantage of her position as navigator and directed Griffin into the gap.

He gave her a dubious look, which Marie pointedly ignored. Reluctantly Griffin drove into the opening.

Inside, there were more hedge pathways leading in three different directions. Wanting to keep going, Marie picked the left one.

Following that, there were more pathways leading even deeper into the hedges. They took a few more turn before Griffin finally turned to her, "Just where do you think we're going?"

"I don't' really know. If we keep going, maybe we'll find out."

"I don't think you get it. I didn't want to tell you before, because I thought you'd figure it out, but we're in the maze."

Marie looked at him blankly, "What?"

"We're in the maze," he repeated, "If we keep going, we'll probably get lost."

"No we won't; we can follow the tire treads out," Marie pointed out happily, "Let's keep going!"

"How do you think of these things, and still jump out of moving vehicles?" Griffin muttered.

"I heard that!" Marie scowled.

"Good," replied Griffin, staring straight ahead.

Despite Griffin's misgivings, they kept going, Griffin grudgingly taking random turns whenever Marie asked him to.

"Finally!" Griffin yelled as they ran into a dead end, "Now let's turn around and go back to the building. I haven't had any lunch yet and I'm really hungry and I hope you know just how stupid this whole thing was, because I sure do!"

"Jeez! Fine we'll go back!" Marie yelled back, deciding not to bother mentioning the door knob she'd seen in the hedge. Griffin didn't deserve to know about her discovery, the giant killjoy. She'd come back later and open it herself.

* * *

PLOT-kinda!

Was this too technical? How's my dialogue doing? Descriptions? Cheezy meter? Does this hat make my butt look big? Does Griffin seem too much like a pansy? … God, the things I worry about…

I STILL like food. And flyingsolo365. And REIVIES.

See that purplie-blue button down there that says "Review this Chapter." You should click it. You know you want to. It'd make me happy.

GRAPE.

PPSBTW: NOW I'M TRYING TO LEARN AIR SWIPES… from youtube, in case anyone's wondering.


	8. hiatus :

hello...

i just need to announce these stories are ON HIATUS mostly because i haven't updated them in a long time and i have no idea when, i will. i'm sorry and i'm feelin pretty fail for this, but i don't think i can handle writing a real story. i'm gonna try something smaller like a one-shot and once i feel like i can tackle a real story, i'll try these again.

thanks for reading so far *sad smile*

GRAPE.


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